Dilemma of repeat collaborations in creative projects

Hiroyasu Inoue

Published 2014-09-22Version 1

We focus on how repeat collaboration in creative projects affects the performance. Repeat collaboration has two contradictory aspects. One of them is a positive aspect: team development or experience. The other aspect is negative: team degeneration or abrasion. This contradiction causes the dilemma whether we should keep collaborating or not. The contradiction has not been quantitatively analysed. We provided extensive and quantitative analyses of the dilemma in creative projects by using patent data of Japan and the United States. We proposed the three conditions to validate the existence of the dilemma quantitatively. First condition is the better impact of team patents is, the longer collaborations occur. Second condition is impact of consecutive patents decrease after hits a team makes. Third condition is at some point of consecutive patents, expectation of impact by switching teams is better than one of a consecutive production. We found these conditions arise in patents of Japan and the United States. Therefore, we could validate the dilemma in creative projects quantitatively. Next, we proposed preventive strategies for abrasion. One is developing technological diversity and the other is developing inventor diversity. We found the two strategies are both effective through the validation on data.